Blog: Meeting with Tameside Youth Forum

Last Friday I took the opportunity to meet members of Tameside Youth Forum in Mossley, to discuss the work they have been doing in the area.

The forum, which was established to encourage young people in Tameside to take an active role in their communities, wanted to speak with me to discuss how they can work to influence the decisions that affect them.

Members of the forum want to develop a manifesto for young people in the borough to help local decision makers get a clear understanding of what they want from the Council and other services.

Some of the young people who are involved with the forum visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg last year, after meeting with me and North West MEP, Arlene McCarthy to discuss European issues.

It is always great to talk to young people who show such a keen interest in what goes on around them.

Structures like the Youth Forum are crucial to giving our young people a voice and enabling them to play a positive role in their communities.

As well as working on developing a manifesto for local young people, the forum is also looking at ways in which it can develop into a more formal Youth Council, which would involve youngsters from the area participating in elections.

This is something I welcome, and I look forward to speaking with them again in the future. Published 3rd June 2013